Receiver-stock assembly for firearm



April 30, 1968 a. w. BRQWNING 3,3 ,1

RECEIVER-5TOCK ASSEMBLY FOR FIREARM File'dJan. 3, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. BRUCE VV. BROWNING H I S ATTORNEY April 30, 1968 B. w. BROWNING RECEIVER-STOCK ASSEMBLY FOR FIREARM 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan. 5, 1967 INVENTOR. sauce vv. BROWNING J wwww HIS ATTORNEY 1 Of Utah. 1

Filed Jan. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 606,844 7 Claims. (CI. 42-75) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention presents an improved receiverstock assembly for firearms. The assembly is easily disassembled, admits of slideable removal of the trigger assembly and provides, upon disassembly, ready access to the open interiorof the receiver, this for cleaning, replace ment, or other purposes. Blind attachment means for locking the stock to the receiver is facilitated.

The present invention relates to firearm assemblies and, moreparticularly, to an improved firearm assembly which is inexpensive to manufacture, extremely easy to assemble and disassemble, avoids permanently-installed obstructions in the receiver cavity such as bolts and pins, and, when completely assembled, is locked together in a positive manner with blind attachments of minimum number, conceivably but a single bolt.

Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide in a firearm a receiver which, upon removal of the stock from the firearm and the trigger assembly from the receiver, leaves the interior of the receiver open and unobstructed for cleaning and inspection purposes. A further object of the invention is to provide in a firearm a receiver completely free of transverse pivot pins, bolts, exterior stock attachments, and other structures which tend to make the receiver unsightly in appearance and cumbersome to service.

Afurther object is to provide in the firearm a series of easily installed andeasily removed sub-assemblies, such as the} trigger assembly and bolt carrier assembly, and this in such a manner that the trigger assembly may be easily, releasably locked in position.

An additional object is to provide in a firearm assembly a locking plate, releasably insertable within and retained by the receiver. of the firearm, such locking plate being used simultaneously as an anchor for the stock of the firearm and as a lock to position the trigger assembly of the firearm within its receiver.

The features of the present invention which are bel lieved to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a firearm incorporating the principles of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, partially exploded perspective of the firearm shown in FIGURE 1 and is partially broken awayto reveal the interior structure within the receiver of the firearm.

FIGURE 3 is a completely exploded view of that portion of a firearm which is under present consideration; the phantom lines indicate the direction of assembly of the parts relative to the receiver of the firearm.

FIGUREEA is a fragmentary section of the junction area ,of the firearm relative to the receiver, stock, and locking plate thereof.

In the drawings FIGUREgl illustrates, in side eleva- .nitedl States Patent tion, a firearm 10 incorporating the principles of the present invention. While the firearm 10 takes the form of a semi-automatic rifle, it will be understood that the invention applies equally to other types of firearms such as shotguns and conceivably even pistols. In the drawings the firearm 10 includes the usual barrel 11, a receiver 12 integral and communicating with said barrel, 2. stock 13 secured to the receiver 12, a trigger assembly 14 cooperatively disposed within the receiver 12, and forearm structure 15 disposed beneath and secured to the barrel and/ or receiver. The trigger assembly 13 may includethe usual magazine latch 16, magazine (not shown), and safety 16', which form no part of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated the longarm or firearm 10 takes the form of a semi-automatic rifle having a forearm encasing gaseous-pressure-operated structure including a pair of bolt carrier assembly actuating arms 17 which are keyed at respective upper protuberances 18 to the bolt carrier assembly 19 at its slots or indentations 26 at opposite sides thereof. The bolt carrier assembly actuating arms 17 are connected to the gasoperated structure enclosed within the forearm 15 of the firearm; such structure is well known in the art and forms no part of the present invention. Gas-operated structures directly connected to the bolt carrier assembly of a firearm for automatically actuating the bolt carrier assembly upon successive firings is well known in the art. As to this feature, the gas-operated structure, which is conventional and which may be incorporated within the forearm 15 in the usual manner, is amply illustrated in the following United States patents: Nos. 2,223,093, 2,336,- 146, 2,090,656 2,224,758, 2,271,576, 2,027,892, which are incorporated herein fully by way of reference.

The present invention is concerned, of course, with novel and unique assembly which is extremely easy to accomplish when utilizing the principles of the present invention.

The receiver 12 is preferably completely open and unobstructed in its interior and includes an open, assemblyfacilitating, rearward end 20. In a preferred form of the invention the receiver 12 includes a series of shoulders, recesses, and other interior surface features as may be appropriate in the design intended. For example, there will be provided a pair of mutually opposite, parallel, downwardly-facing shoulders 22. In assembly, the bolt carrier assembly will be inserted into the open, assemblyfacilitating rearward end 20 of receiver 12 and positioned forwardly such that the upper surfaces 23 of the bolt carrier flanges 24 of bolt carrier 25 engage downwardlyfacing receiver shoulders 22. At this point it is a simple matter to key the conventional actuating arms 17 to the bolt carrier assembly by the upper keying protrusions 18 thereof fitting into corresponding slots 26 of the bolt carrier 25. At this point it is well to mention that the details and novel operation of the bolt carrier assembly 19 form no part of the present invention, but are more fully described and set foflh in the inventors copending patent application, entitled Novel Bolt Carrier Assembly, (Serial No. 606,846, filed Jan. 3, 1967) and fully incorporated herein by way of reference. It is sufficient merely to point out at this time that the bolt carrier assembly comprises a breech bolt 27 secured to a bolt carrier 25. A bolt carrier, removable operating handle 28 is releasably affixed to the bolt carrier 25. Likewise there is provided a telescoping slide 29 intercooperating with the bolt carrier 25. These details of the bolt carrier assembly are fully set forth in the above-referenced co-pending patent application. Such details form no part of the present invention.

Once the bolt carrier assembly 19 is positioned suitably within the receiver against downwardly-facing shoulders 22 and the bolt carrier operating handle 28 is releasably aflixed to the assembly in a manner pointed out in the above-referenced co-pending application, then the bolt carrier assembly actuating arms 17, as before mentioned, will be keyed to the bolt carrier assembly 19 via the upper protuberances 18 and corresponding slots 26, so that the receiver is now in a condition to receive the rail members and the trigger assembly.

In a preferred form of the invention, trigger assembly insertion is preceded by the insertion of rail members 35 into the receiver such that the upper surfaces 36 of the rail members engage and support the lower surfaces 37 of arms 17, whereas the lower surfaces 38 of rail members 36 will engage and be supported by the longitudinal, mutually opposite, interior upwardly-facing shoulders 39 which are provided in the receiver. Rail members 35 include lightening holes 40 for purposes of reduction in weight. The rail members 35 are held against collapsing inwardly (1) at their forward ends by the receiver itself and the forearm structure and (2) at their rearward extremities by the sides S of trigger assembly 14. Relative to (1), it is seen in FIGURE 2 that forward ends 56 of the rail members proceed through respective slots 57 in the receiver to rest against respective sides 58 thereof and abut respective interior shoulders 59 of forearm 15.

The reason for including the rail members 25 are many. In the first place there is reduction in weight, both by virtue of the design of the rail members and also because of the milled out area of the receiver which accommodates insertion of the rail members. These milled out areas are designated as 40 in FIGURE 3 in the drawings. Such areas also accommodate alignment and positioning of arms 17.

Trigger assembly 14 is fully disclosed in the inventors co-pending application entitled Firearm Improvement, this being also fully incorporated herein by way of reference. The details of the combination trigger assembly and firing mechanism forms no part of the present invention; for present purposes it is sufiicient to state that the trigger assembly 14 is an independent unit having outwardlyextending guide ribs 33 which are constructed to co-act with trigger assembly guide slots 34 supplied in the receiver. Accordingly, the trigger assembly is easily inserted into the receiver 12 such that the guide ribs 33 of the trigger assembly engage guide slots 34 of the receiver.

Upon insertion of the rail members 35 and the subsequent positioning of trigger assembly 14 within the receiver, the locking plate 42 is next positioned. Locking plate 42 includes a central threaded bore 43 and a permissably-included top cutout 44 for providing relief for rearward travel of the bolt carrier 25 of bolt carrier assembly 19. Stock bolt 45 is supplied and, for proper insertion of locking plate 42 within the receiver, is preliminary threadedly inserted into threaded bore 43 so that by a thumb-and-finger movement the locking plate may be easily inserted, top first, into the receiver through area 40. At this point it is important to note that the receiver includes an interior, transverse stop rib 46 proximate the open, assembly-facilitating rearward end 20. Stop rib 46 defines a forwardly-facing, locking plate stop shoulder 47 against which locking plate 42 is positioned and retained. There will be provided on both sides of the interior of the receiver a milled slot area which is termed a locking plate guide slot 49. This is for the purpose of accommodating the downward displacement of locking plate 42 so that the locking plate 42 may be urged downwardly to engage the locking plate recess seat 50 of trigger assembly 14. The output access opening 51 on both sides not only accommodates rail members 35 but also, and more importantly, locking plate 42. The receiver is sufficiently upwardly relieved at 52 so that the locking plate 42 can be inserted through cutout access openings 51, top first. Then the locking plate is tilted slightly in a counter-clockwise direction and urged rearwardly against shoulder 47 and downwardly so that the bottom 53 of locking plate 42 is caused to proceed downwardly through opposite 4 guide slots 49 of the receiver to engage the recess seat 50 of trigger assembly 14.

At this point the stock bolt 45 is removed from the locking plate 42, the stock 13 is inserted in position against the receiver, and the stock bolt is now inserted through access opening 54 of the stock to engage washer 55 at its head 56 and thus be positioned through central bore 57 to proceed therethrough and threadedly engage the central threaded bore 43 of locking plate 42 and lock the firearm assembly as shown in FIGURE 4. This is also illustrated in dotted line configuration in the side elevation of the firearm shown in FIGURE 1. Subsequent to this assembly a suitable butt plate, not shown, is affixed to the end of the stock in a conventional manner.

It is'noted that the end result produced is highly desirable. There are no external bolts or other connections afiixing the stock to the remainder of the gun. Rather, the attaching means preferably used is a stock bolt 45 inserted through the end of the stock and engaging thrust washer 55 interior stock shoulder 55 so as to retain the stock securely against the locking plate 42. Locking plate 42 is retained in place by the inverted U-configured, composite stop shoulder 47 of stop rib 46 of the receiver. The locking plate not only serves to retain the stock in position but also locks the remainder of the structure such as trigger assembly 14 Within the receiver, which in turn locks the rail members as previously described.

It will be understood that a cartridge magazine will be supplied the firearm forwardly of the trigger assembly. The magazine may be of the conventional automatic feed type and forms no part of the present invention.

The firearm utilizing the present inventive concepts is very easy to disassemble and reassemble. The design is extremely clean. Upon removal of a single bolt 45 the entire structure may be disassembled by first removing the stock, then the locking plate through the use of stock bolt 45 in the manner hitherto described, then the trigger assembly, and finally the rail members 35 and bolt carrier assembly 19. The receiver thus is left completely opened and unobstructed at its interior. Rail members 35 may be easily replaced, and this may become necessary due to wear of the parts. It is noted that all of the parts, save of course the stock, are suitably designed for easy insertion into the receiver through the open, assembly-facilitating rearward end 20 of the receiver.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a firearm including a barrel, in combination: a receiver integral and communicating with said barrel, said receiver having an open interior and an open, assemblyfacilitating, rearward end, said receiver being provided with an interior transverse rib proximate said rearward end and providing a forwardly-facing interior stop shoulder; a trigger assembly disposed within and slidably and keyingly engaging said receiver, said trigger assembly and receiver being constructed and arranged for selective withdrawal of said trigger assembly through said rearward end of said receiver; locking plate means removably disposed within said receiver and seated therewithin, against said interior stop shoulder, for retaining said trigger assembly within said receiver; a stock; and means for securing said stock against said receiver and to said locking plate.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said securing means comprises a bolt, said locking plate including a transverse, central, threaded bore, said bolt being threadedly engaged with said threaded bore.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said receiver includes a pair of longitudinally-oriented, parallel, downwardly-facing shoulders, a bolt carrier assembly disposed within, said receiver and slidably engaging said shoulders, a pair of bolt actuating arms keyed to said bolt carrier assembly and extending within said receiver, said receiver having a pair of longitudinal, mutually opposite, interior, upwardly-facing shoulders, and a pair of rail members engaging said upwardly-facing shoulders and supporting for slidable movement said bolt actuating arms, said rail members also being retained in position at least in part by said: locking plate and said trigger assembly.

4. In a firearm including a receiver having a rearward end, a stock attachable to said receiver at said rearward end, and a trigger assembly insertable within and cooperably engaging said receiver, an improvement comprising locking plate means removeably positioned in said receiver, said receiver including stop shoulder means proximate said jrearward end of said receiver, said locking Jplate means engaging said stop shoulder means and,

simultaneously, forwardly abuttingly engaging said trigge r assembly to lock the same in position within said receiver against translational movements, and bolt means References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1938 Browning 4275 X 3/1961 Lewis 42-75 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

